October 27, 1978

1978Sergei Samsonov, Russian ice hockey player and scout^[†]

Sergei Viktorovich Samsonov is a Russian former professional ice hockey forward who is now a scout for the Carolina Hurricanes. He played in the NHL with six teams from 1997 to 2011, most notably for the Boston Bruins. Internationally Samsonov played for the Russian national team in several tournaments, including the 2002 Winter Olympics, where he won a bronze medal.

1978Vanessa-Mae, Singaporean-English violinist and skier^[†]

Vanessa-Mae, also called Vanessa-Mae Vanakorn Nicholson, is a British violinist with album sales reaching several million, having made her the wealthiest entertainer under 30 in the United Kingdom in 2006. She competed under the name Vanessa Vanakorn for Thailand in alpine skiing at the 2014 Winter Olympics. She was initially banned from skiing by the International Ski Federation (FIS) after participating in a qualifying race allegedly organised to enable her to qualify for the Winter Olympics. An appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport led to the ban being nullified, citing lack of evidence for her own wrongdoing or any manipulation. The FIS later issued an apology to her.